Bedside MRI Sensitive and Specific for Hemorrhagic Stroke

As published in Nature Communications, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA)-cleared portable MRI device (Swoop; Hyperfine, Guilford, CT) has been shown sensitive and specific for diagnosis of hemorrhagic stroke. 

In the study (NCT04436068), hospitalized participants had brain imaging with either noncontrast CT or conventional MRI and the portable MRI system. A total of 144 portable MRI system examinations were evaluated, and 85 of 88 blood-negative cases (96.6% specificity, 95%CI: [0.90–0.99]) were correctly identified. The portable MRI system also correctly detected intracerebral hemorrhage in 45 of 56 blood-negative cases (80.4% sensitivity, 95%CI: [0.68–0.90]).

There is growing evidence that MRI is as accurate as CT for detecting acute brain hemorrhage. This FDA-cleared bedside MRI system can be wheeled to the patient's bedside and plugged into a standard electric outlet to acquire critical images via a wireless tablet within minutes.

“Rapid determination of stroke etiology is absolutely critical to successful treatment and ensuring optimal clinical outcomes for patients,” said Kevin Sheth, MD, vice chair, Clinical and Translational Research, Departments of Neurology and Neurosurgery at the Yale School of Medicine, who served as principal investigator of the study. “This study validates Swoop as an accurate method to detect and characterize intracerebral hemorrhage. The results are exciting because Swoop is readily accessible, providing clinicians with an entirely new option for rapid and convenient assessment of patients with brain injury—which will be particularly useful for settings in which CT and MRI are not readily available, such as intensive care units.”